A Few New Faces
by Snazzy Pants
Summary: Welcome one, welcome all! This fic is slightly AUish. Most of the plotlines in here were not in the show, and were created by me. Will also feature three OCs of my creation. Rated T for violence and coarse language. Chapter 9 up! R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

Well, I seem to be busy with fanfics as of late. Evo is probably the easiest for me to write, though. Most likely because of the the fact that I'm the Vice-Captain of the X-Men Evo RP guild on Gaia. 

Anyways, while I don't own X-Men Evolution (that honor goes to Marvel), I do own the character of Raze Mihrosa. He's one of my main RP characters in the guild.

The guild's slightly AU-ish, in that we throw continuity out the window, and think up our own plotlines.

Anyways, I'll be introducing three OCs in total in this fic, with the first three chapters having an introduction for each of them. The first two are ones that I use in the guild, and the third one is a character that I just thought up a few days ago. You'll have met 'em all by the time this is done.

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**Chapter 1: Raze **

Every day, the first thing that Raze did as he got dressed was to put on the gloves. Not because he was trying to make a fashion statement, but because he didn't want to risk setting anything on fire. You see, Raze was a mutant, with a very volatile power. If he didn't have his gloves, there's a good chance that his hands would burst into flames. His feet did the same thing, but they were easier to contain.

Of course, most folks at Bayville High just thought he was trying to act cool. It was just as well, because he wasn't about to tell anyone that he was a mutant. He could just imagine what would happen then. He'd likely be chased out of the school. So, day after day, he kept the secret to himself, kept wearing the gloves, and kept avoiding any potential contact with most people.

He was a loner, but he was the loner that everyone wanted to be like. If only they knew...

He was used to being on his own, so it didn't bother him too much. What bothered him was the fact that even if he did want to get close to someone, he was afraid of his powers hurting them.

Today was a day like any other. He pulled on his gloves, grabbed his shades, snagged his wallet off the table, and set out for school. It was an average day, with average classes, and average amounts of boredom. Like any other day, he sat alone in the cafeteria, well aware of the half-dozen teenage girls staring at him and giggling amongst themselves.

However, he ignored them as he usually ignored most people. Except for that one girl, Rogue. Something about her seemed familiar, but not in the "I've met you before" sense. He couldn't quite place it, and probably wrote it off to her being the other loner of the school.

Anyways, his average lunch period would have continued as always, if Duncan Matthews hadn't decided to intervene. Duncan was the star of the football team, and the self-proclaimed king of the school. "Hey, Red," Duncan said, coming up behind Raze. He ruffled the young man's dark red hair, in a mocking sort of way. "You still owe me a soda for yesterday," he said, flanked by two of cronies, Mike and Dan. Raze let out an exasperated sigh. "Duncan, we've been over this. You threw the soda at someone behind me. If I ducked so it didn't hit me in the face, that doesn't mean I owe you a soda," Raze said, not bothering to turn around.

"Hey, turn around when he's talking to you," Mike said, placing a beefy hand on Raze's shoulder. Raze grabbed Mike's hand, and pinched into the joint just above where the bones of the thumb met the hand. Mike howled in pain, and clutching at his throbbing hand after Raze let go. "Mike, if you ever touch me like that again, I will break your wrist. Got it?" Raze said, getting rather irritated by Duncan and his cronies. "Red, you just made the biggest mistake of your life. You, me, in front of the school after class. I'm going to give you a lesson in respect," Duncan said, ruffling Raze's hair one more time. Raze's eye twitched, and he blurted out rather uncharacteristic. "You know what, Duncan? I accept your challenge. I'm going to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. I'll see you then," Raze said, a finality in his voice.

Duncan backed up slightly from the sheer force of the words, and with a silent gesture to his "friends", walked off.

_Dammit, what the hell did I just do?_ Raze thought to himself. A thousand horrible outcomes were running through his head, most of them having to do with him being exposed as a mutant. _Not good. Really, really not good. I can't back out, or I'll never hear the end of it. And if I fight, I've got to be careful. I have to do this just right, or I'm screwed either way. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!_

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Word of the upcoming fight had spread quickly through the student populace, and by the end of the day, a crowd of students had gathered to see the fight of the month, the Jock versus the Loner. Most people were betting on Duncan simply beating the tar out of Raze, but no one knew Raze well enough to judge. For all they knew, he could have been a martial arts master. He wasn't, but they didn't know that.

"So, you're not chicken after all, Red. Ready for your lesson?" Duncan said, flanked again by his two cronies. He cracked his knuckles, and simply looked at Raze with his usual cocky expression of contempt.

"Are you?" Raze responded, cocking an eyebrow behind his shades. "You treat everyone like your personal slaves. You walk around like you own this school. You think you're the big man on campus. Well, you know what they say. Pride comes before a fall," Raze said, trying to quash the feelings of dread about this fight. He was scared, but anyone would be scared if you had to fight the star of the football team.

"Shut your face!" Duncan shouted. He charged at Raze with all the power of a freight train. Unfortunately for the jock, he had all the agility of one too. Raze simply ducked to the side, letting Duncan barrel past him. Everytime Duncan through a punch, Raze sidestepped, ducked, or dodged out of the way.

"Stand still, you little worm!" Duncan yelled, getting angrier by the second. "What, and let you hit me?" Raze shot back. Then, Duncan landed a lucky blow that sent Raze skidding across the ground. He shook himself out and was getting to his feet when he noticed his glove was ripped. It was shredded pretty good from his little meeting with the asphalt. _Shit!_ he thought, looking at his hand in a panic. Poking through the tears in the fabric were thin jets of flame, the first inklings of his powers breaking through. _Not here!_ He couldn't afford to have his powers flare up now. So, thinking quickly, he got to his feet, and swiftly stuck his hand behind his back, wrapping it in his shirt and smothering the flames. "What's the matter, Red? Hurt your hand?" Duncan mocked.

"What, from that lucky shot? I'm just getting fired up!" Raze responded, not missing a beat. He turned to the side, and eyes still on Duncan, gave the universal sign for "Bring it on".

Growling in rage, the jock ran forward, determined to take down the little punk who dared to mock him. But in his rage, he got sloppy, and Raze capitalized on it. He sidestepped, and grabbed Duncan's arm. With a few swift kicks, the once-mighty "king of the school" was on his knees. Raising his foot almost to his face, Raze brought it down with immense force towards Duncan's head. With a millimeter to spare, the foot stopped. Duncan stared at it in total shock.

"Class dismissed," Raze said, lowering his foot to the ground, and walking away. Duncan just sat there, still in shock at being defeated by some punk.

Elsewhere in the crowd, however, two people who were watching the fight began to speak in low voices. "Did you see that?" the one with the red shades said, referring to the flames that had been pouring through the tears in Raze's glove. "Oh yeah. He was definitely worried," the red-headed girl responded.

"Should we talk to him?"

"Let's ask the professor first."

"Good idea."

The two walked off, and headed back to the mansion known as Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

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And that's chapter one! So what did you think of Duncan getting some sense knocked into him? Personally, I always thought the character needed a swift kick in the ass. So, if you've read it, please review! 

Chapter two will be up when I get around to writing it, which should be soon. I hope.

And just so you know, where Raze grabbed Mike's hand actually does cause pain. There's a nerve or something there.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, I do not own X-Men. But you probably figured that out, right? Right?

Morgan, however, is one of my own characters. He is another one of the characters that I use in the Guild, though his powers here are different. Actually, the ones used here are his original powers, which had to be changed due to a conflict with another member of the Guild.

The X-Men Junior thing may have been in the show, but it was expanded in the RP. And Morgan was the unofficial leader of it. Well, his team, anyways.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter 2: Morgan**

Like Raze, Morgan was also a mutant. But unlike the red-haired youth, Morgan's powers were much less volatile. They could be dangerous, yes, but only when he decided to use them that way.

Morgan was a shadowshifter. His mutant ability allowed him to manipulate shadows (shifting), and to travel through them at will ('porting). At first glance, one would think that this was an extremely powerful ability. Of course, it wasn't without one massive drawback.

In the presence of bright light, his powers would be all but nullified. No shadow means no shifting.

Another difference between Morgan and Raze was that Morgan had much better control over his powers, probably due to the training he had received at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Xavier's was a place where young mutants could go to be safe from people that would harm them, and to learn how to fully harness and control their powers. It was also home to a team of mutants known as the X-Men, who used their powers to save people, and to promote equality between humans and mutants.

While Morgan wasn't a full fledged X-Man yet, he was part of what was affectionately dubbed "X-Men Junior". This was a training team that was comprised of young mutants between the ages of 14-16, who would likely become full members once they came of age. Morgan, by just his friendly and trustworthy nature, had been dubbed the unofficial leader of the team by the other members. In many ways, he was the complete opposite of Raze. He was extroverted and friendly, while Raze was the loner.

Of course, Morgan's appearance was a bit odd. As a part of his mutation, his hair had no pigmentation, rendering it pure white. Despite this oddity, he was one of the few people who Duncan never picked on. This was probably because it was a widely known fact around the school that Morgan could probably tear Duncan apart. Ninjutsu training could do that for your rep.

Most of Morgan's day was filled with classes, and by some freak chance, he always ended up with the most boring teachers in the school. Following a rather brain-numbing English class, Morgan was more than happy to speed to the cafeteria, where he sat with the rest of the Xavier students, and more specifically, his best friend Kurt Wagner. Kurt and Morgan had hit it off almost as soon as Morgan had arrived at the institute, and the two had been inseparable ever since. They discussed which classes they had, before watching the short scuffle between Mike and that Raze kid. Kurt's hearing was able to pick up the boy's response through the noise of the cafeteria.

"So, what'd he say?" Morgan asked, turning to his friend.

"He says he vants to put Duncan in his place," Kurt replied in his usual German accent.

"Well, that should be interesting to see. Think he could do it?"

"Who knows? He could be a freaky ninja like you!" Kurt said, slapping his friend on the back.

"Hey! I'm not that freaky, am I?" Morgan replied.

"Oh no? Remember vat happened vith Kitty?"

"Oh yeah. That wasn't my fault, though," Morgan said, remembering the time he had unintentionally scared Kitty half to death. Just as Morgan was 'porting, Kitty happened to bump into him. He inadvertently took her with him, and when they emerged on the other side of the shadows, Kitty looked rather freaked out. For someone who'd never done it before, 'porting through the shadows like that was downright spooky. Kitty had refused to speak to Morgan for three days after that.

By the end of the day rolled around, Morgan was part of the crowd gathered to watch the fight between Duncan and Raze. He was standing near the edge of the crowd, just close enough to see the fight. He couldn't see Kurt, but he was pretty sure he was nearby. Probably 'ported to a better vantage point to watch the fight.

Morgan also noticed that that Maxis kid was here. The guy didn't really talk much, and he was more of a loner than Raze, save hanging out with the kids from the Brotherhood. He was pretty sure that Maxis was a mutant, but couldn't get close enough to tell. He brushed it out of his mind, and focused back on the fight. He winced instinctively when Duncan landed the lucky blow that sent Raze flying. But he was suitably impressed with the series of kicks that Raze had used to finish Duncan, especially his control with the axe kick at the end, to stop it that close to Duncan without hitting him.

It was after the fight that Morgan noticed Jean and Scott talking about something. He couldn't make out all of the words, but he knew it had something to do with Raze. _What the heck are they talking about? Is Raze a mutant too?_ he thought to himself. "Zat was pretty impressive, vouldn't you say?" Kurt said, walking up beside Morgan. "Yeah, it was pretty good. Finally, someone else who can put Duncan in his place. I was getting tired of being the only one," Morgan replied, as they walked to catch the bus back to the mansion.

He'd ask Scott about Raze later.

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And that's chapter 2! What I plan to do for the first three chapters, as they are introductions for my OCs, is to describe the same day, but from the point of view of each of the characters. We already saw Raze's day, and now we have Morgan's. So, the next chapter will belong to the third and final OC, and then I'll really launch into plotlines. I'll also take suggestions for storyline ideas as well. 

Another little tidbit about Morgan: In the RP, every time Morgan asked a girl out, the villain at the time would always choose that moment to attack. And so, he's never had a "girlfriend" for more than 15 minutes. Poor, poor Morgan.

Well, until next time!

Stay Snazzy!


	3. Chapter 3

In this chapter, I'll be introducing my third and final OC, Maxis. Maxis is differs from both Raze and Morgan, partly because of his mutation, and partly because of his choice of allegiances.

Also, I'm going to be playing Pietro in much the same way that my friend Nick did in the RP.

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**Chapter 3: Maxis**

"HurryuporIllkickyououtyoullthankmelater!"

This nigh-unintelligible gibberish was actually English, but spouted at such a speed that it all came out as one really long word. Of course, if you lived at the Brotherhood house, you would have learned to decipher it by now.

The word, and the term is used lightly, was spewed from the mouth of what looked like a silver streak which was currently darting around the house, waking up the other residents. "Pietro. Get. Out," growled the low voice from the owner of the room that this silver streak was currently moving through. "Ifyouwantmeoutyoullhavetocatch-URK!" With a swift motion, a scaly hand shot out, and grabbed the speedster by the throat. "Good catch," Pietro choked out, struggling against the iron grip around his windpipe. A loud thud could be heard through the house. This was the sound of Pietro being forcibly ejected from the room, and straight into a wall. A slam followed the thud. **This** was the sound of the room's door being forcefully closed.

With Pietro out of the way, Maxis went back about his business, digging through his dresser for a suitable outfit for the day. He settled on a hooded sweatshirt, one of the only clean things in his room. Slipping it on, he made sure that both arms were suitably covered. After the last time, he didn't want to take any chances.

As you may have guessed, Maxis was a mutant as well. But unlike Raze or Morgan, his "power" was not easily concealable through a pair of gloves or through training. Maxis was one of those people with a full-body mutation, much like Hank McCoy, though not as extreme. Covering most of his body was tough black scales, like a reptile's, and there were only a few parts of his body that wasn't covered in them. His stomach was exposed, as was the inside area of his arms. But the scales weren't the only part of his mutation. His eyes were gold in color with the pupils were slitted like a reptile's, his teeth were slightly fanged, and his hands resembled claws. He was also stronger, faster, healed better, and had better senses than most people. Looking freakish was not without its advantages.

Rather than join up with Xavier or live on his own, Maxis had joined up with the Brotherhood. He preferred the freedom here, and he seemed to fit in rather well with the rest of the patchwork family here. Each of them had taken special names for themselves to suit their unique abilities. Pietro was Quicksilver, Freddy was The Blob, Todd was Toad, Lance was Avalanche, and Maxis was Komodo. Maxis's name came about when he wanted something that wouldn't conjure memories of Mortal Kombat. So, while looking through a book for biology class, he settled on the name Komodo, after the large Indonesian reptile.

"Breakfast?" he growled questioningly, as he headed down the stairs and into the kitchen of the Brotherhood house. It was just a filthy as the rest of the house, with dirty dishes laying everywhere, the wallpaper peeling, the wooden furniture beginning to rot, and the floors stained with god-knows-what. The optimist would call the Brotherhood house was a "fixer-upper". The realist would call it a "put-it-downer". But despite its flaws, it kept the rain off their heads (most of the time), and was a (relatively) safe place to sleep.

Toad was the first to respond to the question. "Sorry, bro. We got nothin'," he replied, turning a cereal box upside down and shaking it to signify that it was empty. A single fly buzzed out of the boy, and was immediately snapped up by Toad. "What?"

Maxis rolled his eyes, and strode out the door. "Hey, where're you going?" Lance called after him. "Breakfast," Maxis replied, digging his claws into a tree, and pulling himself into the higher branches. A lone bird sat on a branch, chirping merrily. Then, before it had a chance to react, a scaly hand shot out, grabbed it, and shoved it into the waiting mouth of Maxis. It chirped once in shock, before it found itself as a morning meal. You see, Maxis and Toad had a bit in common: they could both catch their own food. A perk of Maxis's mutation was that his digestive tract was capable of handling extremely fresh (i.e.; still living) food.

He hopped down from the tree, removing a few feathers from around his mouth. A few of the other Brotherhood members, save Toad, were looking rather disgusted. "That ain't right," Pietro remarked, wrinkling his nose. "Ugh, you right about that," Lance agreed. "Ewwww..." Freddy added.

"That was hella tight, yo," Toad said, admiring how easily Maxis had found breakfast.

Now with a full stomach, Maxis grabbed his school bag, and set off towards school, leaving Pietro, Lance, Freddy, and Todd behind.

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His day at school was different than either Morgan or Raze's. He skipped just enough classes to be just shy of getting suspended, and attended only the ones that interested him, like Biology. He spent his lunch with the rest of the Brotherhood members, laughing about the teachers, or making fun of the Xavier kids.

"Fight after school. That Raze kid wants to take down Matthews," Maxis said, overhearing the short conversation.

"The loner? Matthews'll tear him apart," Lance remarked.

"Naw, the Raze kid has style. Not as much as me, mind you, but enough. He'll be fine," Pietro said.

"I'm just glad it ain't me, ya know?" Todd chimed in.

"Yeah, you'd probably end up in biology class as a dissection subject for Maxis," Pietro responded, giving Todd a shove.

"Yo, man, that ain't cool," came the reply.

Lunch progressed much in the same way as this, with several more mean comments being aimed at Todd. The poor kid suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of his "friends", but he stuck with them, because they were all the family he had. Maxis was less cruel than the others, probably because of the nature of his own mutation.

By the end of the day, all five members of the Brotherhood were gathered with the rest of the crowd to watch the fight. Pietro was holding a bag of popcorn and a soda. No one really knew where he got them, and no one really wanted to know. They just figured that there was a very confused movie-goer sitting in a theatre somewhere, and wondering where his snacks went. Todd was cheering for Raze, who seemed to be the underdog at the beginning of the match. Because he was shorter than most, he ended up sitting on Freddy's shoulders to watch the fight. Lance cursed everytime one of Duncan's punches missed, but cheered when Raze finally went skidding across the pavement. Pietro was multitasking as always, between eating his popcorn, flirting with a cheerleader, watching the fight, flirting with another cheerleader, and laughing everytime Lance swore. When Duncan finally went down, he cheered, and slapped Lance on the back. "Ha! I told you that the loner would win! Cough it up, loser!" Grumbling, Lance fished a fistful of twenty dollar bills out of his pocket, and grudgingly handing them to Pietro. The speedster promptly returned to the two cheerleaders waiting for him and walked off, his arms around both of their waists.

Maxis had been intently watching the fight, and had noticed the brief flicker of flame in Raze's hand. "Hmmm... Probably imagining things," he said, and walked off with the rest of the Brotherhood members.

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Aright what do you guys think of Maxis? And next chapter, we'll probably have a bit of plotline. Keep in mind that not all of my characters will be in every chapter. Some of them will center on Xavier's, some of them around the Brotherhood, and some of them around Raze's interactions with both of them. Also, while I've been updating rather quickly, don't expect an update every day. Sometimes it may take me more than a month to get around to writing. Just so you know.

Anyways, keep up the reviews!

Until next time,

Stay Snazzy!


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews!

And now for Chapter 4! This is actually the set-up for an ongoing plot in the story. It was actually a plotline that I wanted to run in the Guild, but we did a restart of the roleplay before I had a chance.

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**_Chapter 4: Enrollment _**

"What have we here? A lady out on a night like this... Things can happen..."

"Back off. I'm not interested."

"I don't think you quite heard me."

The faint "SNIK" of a switchblade echoed through the night.

"Get away from me!" the woman screamed

The sound of a chase could be heard. A lighter tread followed by a heavier one, and then the noise of a struggle.

"Let me go, you bastard!"

Raze could have walked away. He could have turned a blind eye, and continued on his way. _He has a knife,_ half of his mind rationalized. Of course, that was the half he rarely listened to. _I've got more than a knife,_ he told that half of his brain.

"Leave her alone," he said, approaching the scuffle.

"Well, well. What's the little kid going to do about it? Little kid going to cry to mommy?" the aggressor said, pointing the knife in the direction of the woman. There were tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She was clearly afraid for her life.

Raze curled his arm in front of him, clenching and unclenching his fist; a slight cracking from the knuckles could be heard. "Let her go," he said, narrowing his yellow eyes at the man. He pooped his neck to each side.

"Oooh, little boy's actin' all heroic! I'm shaking in my boots. Now run along kid, 'fore I decide to come after you too," the man replied, getting irritated.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Raze said, grinning. He pulled off his gloves, and stared straight into the man's eyes. There was a low "fwoosh", and his arms burst into flame.

"What the hell are you!" the man exclaimed, fear replacing the anger in his eyes.

"I'm your worst nightmare," Raze growled. _Thank you, Bruce Wayne,_ he thought to himself.

The man swung his knife at Raze, but missed by a yard. Raze retaliated by grabbing the man's arm. The man howled in pain, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Raze let go of the arm, and backhanded the man across the face, knocking him on his back.

"Now get out of here. Or I'll burn a lot more than your arm," Raze said, glaring at the man with his eerie yellow eyes. The man didn't say anything. He just turned around and fled.

Silently, the flames on Raze's arms vanished. He was lucky. This was one of those times when it was easy to put out the fire. "Are you alright?" he said, turning to the lady. The lady looked at him in fear, and backs up a few steps. "Hey, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," he says, pulling his gloves back on. "Th-thank you," the woman says quietly, a bit of fear still in her voice. "You're welcome. You should get home. Have some tea. It'll calm the nerves," Raze says to the rattled woman. "Don't mind me asking, but do you need me to walk you there?"

"Y-yes, I'd like that, thank you," she replies.

In the darkness, Raze didn't notice the woman smiling a slightly fanged smile, or the brief flash of bright yellow in her eyes.

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_The next day..._

Raze stood outside the mansion that housed the Xavier's complex. He had a single of suitcase with him, and there was a small device resembling a PDA attached to his belt. The security system had let him in, but he still had to wait for someone to actually come to the door. He rang the doorbell once more, before sitting down on his suitcases and sighing to himself.

No sooner did he do this than the door opened, and he was being addressed by a brown-haired girl wearing a bright pink sweater and a pair of jeans. "Hi, you must be the new kid. Raze, right? Come on, I'll show you to the Professor's room," Kitty said, grabbing Raze by his arm and dragging him along. He was barely able to hang on to his suitcase as he was pulled up the stairs, and down a hallway to stop in front of a large oak door. "Well, this is the professor's room. Go on in!" Kitty said, waiting outside.

_Someone needs to switch to decaf, _Raze thought to himself.

**_Don't mind Kitty. She is excitable around new students,_** said a voice from nowhere.

"What the-!" Raze exclaimed, looking around for the source of the voice. He hadn't so much heard it as felt it. It was hard to explain. "Did you hear that?" he said to Kitty. "Hear what? Oh, that was probably the Professor," she replied.

**_I apologize if I startled you. I am Professor Charles Xavier. Please, come in,_** explained the voice. The wooden doors opened, revealing a large study, with an oaken desk at the far end. Raze walked in, and approached the desk. "Hello Raze. Have a seat," Professor Xavier said, turning his chair around to face the new student. The red-haired boy sat down in one of the chairs near the desk, and looked around idly at the massive shelves of books in the room.

"This is probably a bit overwhelming for you, correct? Don't worry. I daresay you'll get used to it. I trust that your aunt Raven told you a bit about this school before she dropped you off?" Xavier said.

"Yeah, a little. She told me that you guys would teach me how to use my powers properly," Raze responded, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, that's not all that is done here. There is also a wide variety of courses offered for our more motivated students," the Professor explained. He opened one of the drawers of the desk and pulled out several sheets of paper stapled together. He moved around to the other side of the desk to hand them directly to Raze, who realized that the Professor was in a wheelchair. "These are the outlines of the classes offered here. Please, feel free to ask me or any of the other teachers about them," he explained, handing the sheets to Raze. "No, I think I'm good for now. Thank you," Raze said.

"Very well. Kitty will show you to your room, where you can drop off your things. Afterwards, you should probably head out back and introduce yourself to the other students. I'm sure that they'll be happy to meet you," Xavier said, smiling kindly.

Raze nodded, and headed out the door, where Kitty was waiting. "Let's go, I'll show you where you'll be staying," she said, once again grabbing him by the arm.

"This is the boys' wing. The girls' wing is down the hall. Just so you don't get lost on the way to the bathroom or something," Kitty explained once they'd arrived at Raze's room. "And this is where you're room is. Go on in, I'll see you outside," she said. She smiled, and then ran off, phasing through a wall.

Raze stepped through his door, and set his suitcase down by the foot of the bed. "Nice place," he muttered, looking around the room. It had a decent sized bed, a good sized closet, and a desk near the window. He opened his suitcase, and immediately set his new laptop, a "going away" present from his aunt, on the desk, plugging it into the wall socket. He placed his shades over his eyes, and wandered around until he found the back door.

His jaw dropped when he saw the sheer size of the school grounds. It was massive, bigger than anything he'd ever seen. He was pretty sure that one could easily fit the Bayville High football stadium in the yard, and still have room left over. Several people stared and pointed, mostly chattering about the new kid, exchanging theories about what his powers were, and why he was always wearing those gloves. A group of kids playing basketball stopped, and one of them walked over to greet Raze. "You're the new kid, right? Name's Bobby. Pleased to meet you," he said, extending his hand. Raze made sure his gloves were on properly, and accepted the handshake. Of course, this was before he noticed the layer of ice forming around his hand. "Folks call me Iceman. What's your power?" he asked.

Raze seemed reluctant at first, but soon realized that this was a place where he didn't have to worry about his powers as much. He removed the glove that wasn't frozen, and allowed his hand to flare up. He quickly melted the ice on his other hand, and pulled his glove back on. "My other hand and both of my lowers legs do the same thing," Raze explained.

"Cool," Bobby said, chuckling at his own wit. "Hey, you want to join in?" he asked, motioning to the basketball court. "Sure," Raze said, forgetting his inhibitions about being near people, at least for the time being.

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_Meanwhile... _

A woman sat in front of a bank of monitors, reviewing footage from several different cameras, and readouts from various sources. One of them seemed to be satellite footage of a certain school in upstate New York.

"Ma'am?" the woman called to another person behind her.

A red haired, blue-skinned woman walked towards the bank of monitors.

"He's in," the first woman said.

"Excellent," the blue-skinned woman said, grinning a fanged smile.

* * *

Can you guess who Raze is really working for now? I think it's pretty obvious. As is the identity of his "aunt". I left several obvious hints.

When I write this particular character, I usually play "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones. It seems to fit my version of this character perfectly.

Anyways, keep up the reviews!

Until next time,

Stay Snazzy!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all the awesome reviews!

This storyline will be based off of one that was run in the EVO guild about six months ago, and was written by me. I have, however, made a few modifications to the storyline. And while I do not own X-Men, this entire storyline, including any original characters therein, are property of ME, MYSELF, AND I.

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Caged**_

_Nightfall in Bayville..._

For the most part, the town was quiet. Save for the nightclubs, the whole city of Bayville was asleep. Which was too bad, really. Hunting was more fun when your prey knew you were there. But, stealth did have its advantages.

"Rendez-vous point reached. Awaiting arrival of other units," growled a low voice into the small microphone attached to the headset worn by the voice's owner. The figure stuck to the shadows, the solid yellow of it's eyes the only proof that it was actually there. A dark spot in the sky came rocketing down to earth, but landed rather silently. Clinging to this new arrival's back was a female.

Both of them were clad in the same black stealth attire, and when the first figure emerged from the shadows, one could see that he as well was wearing a stealth suit. "Rendezvous complete. Proceeding to main objective," the first figure growled into his headset. The three advanced towards the run-down mansion that was home to the group known as the Brotherhood.

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The next day...

"Huh. That's odd. The Brotherhood gang isn't here today," Morgan remarked, glancing over to the empty lunch table where the Brotherhood was usually seated.

"Maybe zey finally got expelled," Kurt remarked, shrugging his shoulders and returning to his lunch.

"I dunno, Kurt. If they'd been expelled, the faculty would be partying. And besides, one of us would have heard about it. Something's up," Morgan said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"I think zat you're reading too much into things," his friend replied, swallowing the rest of his own meal.

"Am I? I was right about Raze, wasn't I?"

"Zat was just coincidence."

"Well, we'll see, won't we?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile...

Maxis's eyes shot wide open. He couldn't see very well at the moment, but the instinctual side of him knew at once that he was bound with something. He easily broke the shackles holding his arms together, and ran straight for whatever his instincts perceived as an exit. He let out a roar of pain as he was thrown back by a sudden jolt of electricity. He howled in rage, and ran once more towards freedom. Again, he was thrown back by a powerful shock.

"Don't bother. You'll only tire yourself out," said a female voice from somewhere in the room. He growled, but his rational mind finally surfaced from under his animal side. "Where am I?" he said through bared fangs.

"Somewhere safe, so long as you cooperate," the woman said, walking into view. She was wearing a white lab coat and her black hair was neatly tied up in a bun. She was very pretty, but at the moment, all Maxis saw was a fool with a death wish.

"Cooperate with what? Who are you?" he demanded, his rage building again.

"Such passion... I might have found that attractive had we met under different circumstances," she said, pacing around the cage that currently held Maxis.

"You haven't answered my questions," he growled.

"You'll find out your significance soon enough. Until then, you can rest," she said, locking eyes with him. Suddenly, Maxis felt his energy leave him. Sleep beckoned, and no matter how he fought, he could not resist it's pull. "As for my name... You may call me Ruby. I'll be seeing you shortly," she said. That was the last thing Maxis heard before slipping into a deep, dreamless slumber. He was out before he hit the ground.

* * *

Yes, I know this was a short chapter. But that's how it was meant to be. I'm trying to build atmosphere here. 

And don't worry. The story that I mentioned in the previous chapters will still be continued, but like I said, it will be a long term thing, running in the background of whatever the current story is. I'll bring it to a close when I'm ready.

Keep reading and reviewing!

Until then,

Stay Snazzy!


	6. Chapter 6

Woo! I love it when I get one of these flows of ideas, and end up writing several chapters at once!

* * *

**_Chapter 6: Captured_**

"This blows, yo," Toad grumbled, as he slumped against the side of the cell that he had been placed in. He would have tried to break out already, but his tongue didn't seem to want to extend. In fact, none of his abilities seemed to be working.

There were several other people in the cell, but they didn't seem to be very talkative. Peering through the steel bars that comprised most of the cage, he saw that the room was filled with similar cells. His attention was caught when he heard the familiar voice of Quicksilver, though it was noticeably slower than his normal cadence. In fact, he was speaking like a regular human now.

"Hey! HEY! I asked you a question! Where the hell are we!" he shouted through the bars. Todd noticed that Pietro had some sort of collar around his neck. And then he noticed something else. Almost every prisoner was wearing the same kind of collar.

A man walked across the room to Pietro's cage. He was obviously a guard, judging from his nametag, walkie-talkie, and nightstick.  
"I'll tell you where you are. You're in the magical world of "Shut the hell up" land. Population: you," the guard said gruffly.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it, normie?" Pietro shot back, assuming that the guard was a non-mutant. Of course, Pietro was known to be wrong.

The guard raised his hand, and blast of concussive force knocked Pietro against the back wall of his cell. He crumpled to the ground, staring at the guard in shock. "Now, keep your damned mouth shut, got it!" the guard growled, glaring at Pietro.

"You okay, man?" Toad said, walking over to the side of his cage.

"Just what the hell is going on here?" Pietro remarked.

"Hell if I know, man. But it sure ain't good, yo," Toad replied.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Bayville, that evening..._

The mansion was quiet, and everyone was asleep, save for the few mutants who didn't need sleep. Logan was on one of his late-night patrols of the grounds when an unfamiliar scent wafted past his nostrils. His eyes narrowed, and the faint "snikt" of his claws could be heard. "Come on out where I can see ya," he said in a low tone. A blow from behind sent the clawed mutant sprawling forward, only to be knocked back again by an attack from the front. Logan recovered quickly, and a smirk crossed his features. "That the best you got?" he chuckled.

"We're just getting started," a female voice said from the shadows. At those words, the blades of grass around Logan's feet began to grow and twist, snaking their way up his legs, and attempting to hold him in place. With a quick slash of his claws, he was free, and on the move. That is, until he was stopped by a powerful kick to the chest, which knocked him on his back. He tried to hop back to his feet, but found that he could barely move his limbs. He roared in frustration as he tore at the grass that was holding him down, but to no avail. The more he struggled, the more it grew, until soon he was completely bound.

The female descended from the branches of a tree, grinning at the sight of the mighty Wolverine tied up like a spider's meal. He two comrades emerged from the shadows, and the three of them advanced towards Logan. "Alright, you got me. What the hell do you three want from me?" he demanded.

"Who said we wanted you?" the female said, nodding to her yellow-eyed companion. He locked eyes with Logan, who immediately felt every muscle in his body stiffen. He could barely breathe, and his own gaze was frozen in place. The female removed a single seed from a pouch in her uniform, and let it fall to the ground. It immediately took root, and grew into a large black plant. She plucked a single bud from the plant, and crushed it over Wolverine's mouth. Three drops of liquid dripped down his throat, and he was out cold within seconds.

"Objective complete. Proceeding to phase two," the yellow-eyed mutant said into his headset, before silently moving towards the front doors of the mansion.

_Inside the mansion..._

Charles Xavier woke with a start, having felt the sudden surge of emotion from outside. Before he could reach to his bedside table and sound the alarm, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. Reaching up, he pulled a small dart from his neck, and fell back into unconsciousness.

Slowly, the trio moved through the mansion, sticking to the shadows, and making their way towards the rooms of a select few students. Tossing and turning in his bed, Morgan tried in vain to get back to sleep. Every now and then, he would have trouble sleeping through the night. There was nothing that anyone could do about it, so Morgan just had to find something to do until the night was over. Tonight happened to be one of those nights, probably a blessing this time.

"And just who the hell are you three?" Morgan said from behind the trio. The largest of the trio, the other male, whirled around, and fired a small dart at Morgan from a sidearm. Of course, the dart never hit the young man. As the projectile flew through the air, the shadows themselves moved to block it, sending it clattering harmlessly to the floor.

Morgan grinned maniacally. "You're in my world now, so don't think that a little dart gun is going to help you. Now get out, before I throw you out," Morgan said. Alone, he didn't look terribly imposing. But right now, he was definitely in his own element. And under these circumstances, he could be one of the most terrifying people that you'd ever meet. The one who had fired the dart at Morgan grimaced, and ran towards the boy, leaping through the air to send a flying kick straight at his chest. The look of anger was replaced by one of shock as a shadow fashioned itself into a tendril, wrapped itself around his leg, and tossed him back towards his comrades. "You little worm!" the male said, getting to his feet. He was about to rush forward again, when the yellow-eyed mutant held up his arm, holding his comrade back.

He stepped forward slowly, and locked eyes with Morgan. Like what had happened with Wolverine Morgan felt his whole body tense up, and then he felt a sharp pain in his neck. The larger male had fired another dart, this one finding its mark. Morgan felt his muscles loosen as the yellow eyed male broke his gaze, and he felt himself slip into unconsciousness. Before he completely succumbed to the effect of the dart, he managed to get out one last use of his powers. Before the three could stop him, Morgan had slipped into the shadows, and had re-emerged somewhere else in the house, which turned out to be about six feet above the floor of Kitty's room. The resulting thud woke Kitty from her slumber, and she sat bolt upright, quickly covering herself with the sheets.

She noticed the white-haired boy laying on the floor, and was about to berate him for being a pervert, when she realized that he wasn't moving. "Morgan?" she said, poking him with her foot. "This isn't funny!" she added, kicking him in the side. When he still didn't move, that's when she started to worry. She quickly pulled on some clothing, conveniently located on a chair close to the bed, and turned the boy over onto his back. That's when she noticed the dart protruding from his neck. "Oh my god." Without another word, she ran from the room, and tried her best to wake up the other students. Before she got very far, however, she saw the yellow eyes peering at her from down the hallway. She felt her body tense up, but managed to phase through the floor before anything else could happen. _Oh my god, there's someone up there and they got Morgan and now they're alone with all the other students! What do I do!_ she thought to herself, panicking. "Okay, get a hold of yourself. Just find the professor! That's easy enough!" she told herself, trying to calm her nerves. She phased through another few walls, until she found herself in Xavier's room. The professor was laying on his bed, and looked as though he was sleeping, until Kitty noticed the small dart clutched in his hand.

"Oh no. No no no! They got the professor too!"

She ran out of the room, heading for Storm's room, hoping that they hadn't gotten to her yet. Fortunately, they hadn't foreseen Kitty being awake, and so hadn't though to immobilize the other instructors. "Storm, wake up! It's really important!" Kitty said, shaking Ororo. "Kitty? What time is it?" she mumbled, still half-asleep. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter right now! There's someone in the mansion, and they got Morgan and the Professor! Come on, you have to get up now!" Kitty pleaded, helping Storm sit up. At the mention of both the Professor and a student having been harmed, Storm was suddenly wide awake. "What? Kitty, go back to the professor. I'll sound the alarm, and deal with the intruders," she said, getting out of bed. She reached for a switch behind the lamp on her night table, and soon an alarm was sounding throughout the mansion. The auto-defense systems turned themselves on, an immediately targeted the three intruders. "Dammit! We've been discovered. Let's get what we came for, and get out of here!" the large male said, running down the hallway towards Kitty's room. Even as the turrets emerged from the floor, they were crushed into scrap by thunderous kicks from the male. He kicked in the door to Kitty's room, slung Morgan over his shoulder, and made his way back to the others. With another powerful kick, he knocked a hole in a nearby wall, creating an escape route for the three of them. Once they were out of the mansion, the plants that covered most of the grounds moved to cover their escape. Within moments, they were gone, leaving not even a semblance of a trail.

* * *

So, what happens now? You'll just have to wait and see!

In case it wasn't clear what each of the three, I'll give you a brief description.

The girl can control plants. She can force them to grow, and to bend to her will.  
The larger guy has really powerful leg muscles, so he kicks hard, and leaps extremely long distances.  
The man with the yellow eyes can paralyze people by making eye contact.

All three of them were created by me.

I know what some of you are thinking. How the heck could they beat Wolverine so easily, right? Well, the thing about Wolverine is that while he's really strong, he's still susceptible to a well coordinated attack. If it were one on one, he would have taken apart all three of them. But because they were working together, they were able to take down even Logan. He's good, but he's not unbeatable.

Anyways, as long as I keep getting ideas, I'll keep writing them down for you guys!

Until next time,

Stay Snazzy!


	7. Chapter 7

And now, we'll find out just what is going on, plus a shed some light on a certain character's past. I don't own X-Men, but Project: Alpha is my creation. And like I said in the summary, this fic is AU-ish, so they know about the Savage Land, and other stuff that they didn't really touch on in the show.

* * *

**_Chapter 7: Alpha_**

"Ugh... Did anyone get the license number of that truck?" Morgan mumbled, as he finally regained consciousness.

"So, you're finally awake."

Morgan looked around, and tried to get up, only to find that he was strapped to a table of some sort. He would have just shadowed his way out, but the room was flooded with light, almost painfully bright. At the edge of his vision, he saw a figure approaching. He could tell the figure was female from the way she walked.

"Where am I?" Morgan said.

"Now, now, is that any way to address your creator?" the woman said, leaning over Morgan and allowing him a good look at her face. Her features were framed by black bangs, and she peered at him with bright blue eyes. He couldn't place it, but something about her was disturbingly familiar.

"What do you mean, "creator"? Who the hell are you?" Morgan demanded.

"Haven't you ever looked in a mirror?" the woman asked.

Morgan's eyes went wide with shock, and he realized what was so familiar about her. It was something he saw in the mirror every day. Sure, her features were much more feminine, but the similarity was uncanny.

"What the hell is going on here?" Morgan said, feeling very scared and confused.

----------------------------------------------------------

_Back at the mansion..._

"How's the professor?" Scott said to Beast, who was checking on Xavier.

**I'm quite fine, but thank you for your concern, **said a voice in Scott's head.

"Fortunately, it was only a mild tranquilizer in the dart. Just enough to put the Professor back to sleep before he could sound the alarm," McCoy said, placing a furry hand on Scott's shoulder.

"Well, whoever they were, they sure knew what they were doing. If Kitty hadn't woken up Storm, who knows what else they would have done," Scott said.

"Indeed. But now is the time to focus on more pressing matters. One of our students was taken by last night's intruders. Gather the rest of the X-Men, and meet me in the briefing room in half an hour." Xavier said. "I'm going to use Cerebro to attempt to locate our missing student."

_Half an hour later..._

"X-Men, as Scott no doubt informed you, one of our students was taken last night. While I was unable to get an exact coordinate, I have traced his signature to Antarctica, specifically the area known as the Savage Land," Xavier explained to the X-Men who were gathered in his presence.

"The Savage Land? What would they be doing there?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I do not know, Scott. But I would think that you will find out once you arrive there."

"Professor, the Savage Land is huge! It could take us weeks to find him!" Scott protested.

"Unfortunately, his mutant signature was being obscured by something, and it prevented me from getting a lock. I will continue my attempts, however," Xavier replied, his head bowed. "Prepare the Blackbird for launch, and gather a team. Depart as soon as possible."

"Of course Professor. We'll bring him back," Scott said, nodding, and leaving the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The _ _Savage__Land_

The woman chuckled at Morgan's expression. "The look on your face is priceless," she said, walking over to Morgan's left side. He winced slightly as she pressed a small needle into his arm, and withdrew a small sample of blood.

"Please, just tell me what's going on," Morgan pleaded.

"Very well. I suppose you, of all people, deserve to know. Did you ever wonder where your remarkable abilities came from?"

"I have an X-gene. So what?"

"You see, that is what is so remarkable about it. While you do possess the X-gene, it was not inherited," the woman explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Normally, the X-gene is passed down through the father's side. In your case, you are the first male in your bloodline to have it."

"And how do you know?"

"I know because I created you."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Elsewhere..._

"Hey. Guard. I would like some water," Maxis said through the bars of his cage.

"What's that? You'll have to speak up," the guard said, drawing nearer to the cage. He pulled a small bottle of water out of his belt, and took a sip from it, making sure that Maxis could see it.

"I said, I require some water," Maxis repeated, narrowing his eyes at the arrogant man before him.

"Oh, did you want some water?" the guard said. He drank the rest of the bottle, and then tossed the empty at Maxis. There were barely a few drops left in it. "Enjoy," he said with a cocky smile, and turned his back.

"Oh yes, how funny. Now give me some water untouched by you," Maxis said.

"Watch it, or I'll spray you right in the face," the guard said, whirling around, and withdrawing a small spray canister from a holster on his belt.

"When I get out of here, I will kill you myself," Maxis growled, staring straight at the guard, and flashed a fanged smile.

"Yeah, sure," the guard scoffed, and walked away.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The Blackbird..._

"Everyone ready?" Scott said, glancing back out of the cockpit. Storm, Logan, Kitty, Kurt, and Jean had all taken their respective seats in the cabin of the jet.

"Kid, just take off," Logan said gruffly.

"Alright, fine. All systems check out, let's go," Cyclops said, engaging the engines of the Blackbird, and rocketing out of the hangar.

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_Meanwhile..._

"You are completely insane," Morgan said to the woman.

"Am I? Deny it all you want, but you saw the resemblance between us. God created man in his own image. I thought it fitting to do the same."

"If you created me, as you claim, then where the hell do my parents fit into all of this? Why didn't you raise me?" Morgan asked.

"I never had a chance to. Did you ever wonder about what your parents did before they had you?"

"They had some government job. I never really asked."

""Government job", indeed. Your parents and I, the three of us, all worked on the same project. It was titled Project: Alpha because of what it was made to do. It was designed to create the ultimate warrior through genetic manipulation of an embryo. While modifying an adult could result in total cellular breakdown thereby killing the test subject, modifying the embryo had no such flaws. There was no risk of killing a subject, because while organic, an embryo is not truly "alive". Unfortunately, most of the experiments ended in failure, save one. Did you know that your mother is sterile? She is incapable of becoming pregnant through normal means. But our experiments allowed her to carry that one remaining embryo. Created from my one of my own eggs. And right now, I'm speaking to the final product of our experiments," she went on, her brown eyes locking with Morgan's blue ones.

"So what, I'm your biological son, and my mother was just there to give birth to me? And that still doesn't explain what I'm doing here, or why I've never met you before in my life," Morgan said, dismissing her words.

"Because, Morgan, the project was closed down before you were born. Your parents and I were separated. But now, after sixteen years of hard work and underground research, Project Alpha will be resurrected. Your genetic structure is the key. You are the key to the success of the project. We've gathered dozens of samples of mutant DNA. Combined with the knowledge gained from studying your genetic code, we will finish our dream of creating the ultimate warrior."

"Fine, I'll play along, crazy lady. Why can't you just use your own DNA? If what you said about my birth is true, than we'd have a good deal of genetic material in common."

"While it's true that we share genetic markers, we are not identical. It must be your DNA that we use," she explained.

"And then what happens? If your little experiment succeeds, then what? You going to take over the world or something?"

"Take over the- Oh, heavens no. What do you take us for, some sort of comic-book villains? We will create the ultimate warrior, but not the ultimate conqueror. The end result will be the ultimate defender. One who fights to protect those in need. There are thousands of people out there, human and mutant alike, who would do this world harm. Wouldn't it be lovely to be recognized as the creators of a savior?"

"You have on hell of a god complex, lady. But you've forgotten one little detail," Morgan said, smirking.

"Oh? And what's that?" the woman said, leaning over him.

"You cast a shadow."

Suddenly, the woman's own shadow began writhing and twisting, and undid the restraints on Morgan's arm. She recoiled from the table, but it was too late. The young man had already undone the other restraints, and was on his feet. "Guards! Restrain him!" she shouted, and nearly half a dozen guards flooded in from the multiple doors in the room. Thinking quickly, Morgan grabbed a small tool from a nearby shelf, and hurled it at the light switch.

"Oh god," the woman remarked, as the room was plunged into total darkness.

* * *

So, just what is Morgan going to do now that he's completely in his own element? 

And did anyone catch the X3 reference in the chapter?

Yeah, I know the whole genetic manipulation thing is complicated, but think about it. Is it any less convoluted than any of the other storylines that they put in the comics? Seriously. Morgan's more of a miniature Captain America in terms of backstory.

Well, as long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing, at least until I run out of ideas and my head explodes.

Until next time,

Stay Snazzy!


	8. Chapter 8

Vweeheehee! New Chapter! A bit darker at the beginning than the previous one, mainly because of Maxis. I just had to finish up that X3 reference.

* * *

**_Chapter 8: Ruby_**

Beep. Beep. Bee-

The guard patrolling the cages stopped in mid-stride and pulled the walkie-talkie from his belt. "What is it?" he said, slightly irritated.

"Backup! We need backup in the laboratory! He got loose and AAAAAAAGGHHH!" crackled the voice on the other side of the line. And with that, the transmission went dead.

"Shit," the guard cursed, placing the walkie-talkie back onto his belt, and making a bee-line for the exit. Unfortunately (for him, anyways), in his hurry he got a little too close to Maxis's cell. A scaly, clawed hand shot out through the bars, grabbing the surprised guard by the throat. "Told you so," Maxis growled into his ear. He tightened his grip, applying more and more pressure to the side of the man's chin, just near where the neck lead into the head. A sickening snap could be heard throughout the room, and the guard's body hung limply in Maxis's grip. He reached down, and removed the keys from the man's belt, and proceeded to unlock his cage. Apparently, the electricity would only turn on if it was activated manually. With a flick of his arm, he tossed the guard's limp body against one of the walls, watching it fall to the ground like a rag doll.

"Hey, what the hell!" the other guard remarked when he noticed Maxis free of his cell. He levelled his arms at the young man, and fired several blasts of concussive force at Maxis. Rolling to the side, Maxis tossed the keys to Pietro, and charged straight at the guard. The guard attempted to fire another couple of blasts, but he was too slow, and he was on his back with Maxis on his chest before he knew what was happening. The reptillian mutant leapt to his feet again, dragging the hapless guard with him. Roaring in fury, he swung the guard around, and slammed him into the stone wall hard enough to leave a deep indentation. Whipping the guard's body around once more, he slammed him straight into the ground, leaving another crater. Whether the man was still alive remained to be seen, but either way, he wasn't getting up. Maxis stood over his victory, and then reared his head back and let out a guttural roar, one that echoed through the room, and down the hallways leading away from it.

Breathing heavily from the rush of battle, he turned to Pietro, eyes still burning. Pietro was staring at him in shock, not quite sure what to make of what just happened. _He just fucking killed someone like it was nothing. Remind me to never, EVER get on his bad side,_ he thought to himself, as he shook himself from his stupor, and quickly unlocked the cage. He also found a small device on the keyring, that when held to the collar around his neck, caused the power-nullifying device to deactivate and fall off.

"Ah, that's much better," the white haired young man sighed, doing a quick twenty laps around the room. "Yep, feels good to stretch the legs. Now, uh, what say we get the hell out of here?" Pietro said, unlocking the other cages, and stopping in front of Maxis.

"Oh, you won't be going anywhere, Mr. Maximoff. For now, you're going to be taking a nap," said a female voice from behind Pietro. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he felt his strength leave him. He was unconsious before he hit the ground.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Heh... Hahaha!"

The laughter seemed to be coming from all directions at once. The guards that had been summoned to the room groped around in the dark, desperately trying to find the young man they'd be brought in to detain.

"AAAAAAAGGGHH!" one of the guards screamed, as he was tossed across the room by something that had wrapped itself around his midsection. He landed with a crash against the far wall, and crumpled to the floor in a heap. Soon, more crashes and screams could be heard. The woman who had been speaking with Morgan earlier had grabbed a flashlight and a spraycan from one of the fallen guards, and had backed herself into a corner.

"So, is that all I am? Just a science experiment? A saviour in a fucking test tube!" Morgan shouted, as he quickly dispatched the other guards.

"N-No! You would have been a person, first and foremost! A defender, yes, but a person! With feelings, and dreams!"

"If your intentions were so noble..." Morgan said, grabbing the doctor from behind. "Explain this!" he finished, 'porting them to one of the rooms containing rows upon rows of cages containing hundreds of different mutants.

"Oh god... What is this?" she asked, horrified.

"Oh, like you didn't know? Cut the crap, Doctor Frankenstein."

"I swear, I didn't know anything about- Ruby."

"Ruby? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Ruby is one of my assisstants. She was always talking about how we should be taking a less altruistic approach to this. But I never thought that... That she would go this far. And right under my own nose!" the doctor remarked, silent tears streaming down her face.

"You- You really didn't know about this, did you?" Morgan asked, looking at the tears in her eyes.

"No, I swear to god, I didn't know this was happening. I would never condone this. The only reason we restrained you before was because we were certain that you wouldn't participate willingly. But we needed your DNA so badly. It was the only piece missing from the puzzle," she said, tears still welling up in her eyes. "But this... We've got to find her, and put an end to this. She should be somewhere else in the base, probably in another cellblock. She always said we'd need as many as possible. If she was capable of this, than without a doubt there are more kidnapped mutants."

"You'd better be right, doc," Morgan said, taking them both back into the shadows.

------------------  
"You! You're the one from before!" Maxis snarled, leaping at the woman who had called herself Ruby.

"Well, someone's cranky," she said, easily parrying Maxis's attack, and tossing him across the room in one smooth motion.

"Yeah, well he's not the only one!"

A strong pair of arms had wrapped around her midsection from behind, pinning her own arms to her sides. "Ah, Lance Alvers. Hasn't anyone taught you that it's rude to attack from behind?" Ruby snapped her head back, catching a surprised Lance in the jaw, and causing him to lose his grip. Moving flawlessly, she slipped out of Lance's hold, and spun around, delivering a spinning kick to the side of Avalanche's head. That blow dropped him like a ton of bricks.

She was then almost knocked off her feet by a slimy tongue that wrapped around her ankle. Almost. Grabbing hold of the long, mucus-covered muscle, she yanked Toad off of the ground, and used him as a mace against Freddy Dukes, who was now charging at her like a freight train. Toad was sent flying at Blob's face, blinding him and causing him to trip, sending his massive form tumbling and rolling across the floor. He and Toad landed in a heap a good four meters away.

An animal roar pulled her attention back to Maxis, who had leapt back to his feet. Before she could even react, she had been knocked onto her back by a leaping tackle. He was stopped mid-attack, by Ruby slamming her palm into chest. He could feel at least two of his ribs crack from the impact, and he had the wind knocked out of him. Her palm began to glow, and he was thrown back to the other side of the room by a blast of energy. He slammed into the wall, and crumpled to the floor in a heap. Most of his shirt had been burned off, and there were several burn marks on his chest from the blast. He struggled to his feet, his mutant healing abilities quickly repairing the damage to his body. He then found himself flung skyward, slamming through several of the lights hanging from the ceiling, and sending the crashing to the ground, plunging part of the room into darkness. He staggered to his feet again, but nearly toppled over. His healing factor was good, but even _that_ had it's limits. The wound he's sustained in the battle would heal, but only if given the time to heal. If he was constantly being pummelled like this, his healing ability was next to useless.

He waited for the next blow to slam into him, but instead, it never came. His vision blurred, and he saw the one called Ruby being lifted off her feet by something large and black.

"I trusted you! You were my colleague! My friend! I trusted you, and this is how you repay me? By becoming the very thing that we swore to stop!" screamed a voice that Maxis didn't recognize. He struggled to stay awake, but his body was screaming for rest after the beating that he'd just taken. He felt himself weaken, and he collapsed to the floor.

* * *

The plot really thickens! Now, for the obligatory big battle! Tune in next time for even more super-mutant-kung-fu-fighting action! 

But until then,

Stay Snazzy!


	9. Chapter 9

Woo, new chapter! Fight scene time! But at least as dark as the previous chapter.

* * *

**_Chapter 9: Fight_**

"I don't recall swearing to do anything. You are a naive fool! Thanks to my own research, I've given this project a ten year leap forward! Just look at me! The process even works on adults!" Ruby responded, smirking despite the fact that she was still bound by Morgan's powers.

"You monster! What have you done to yourself!" the scientist exclaimed, running forward.

"I've done what you were too weak to even dream of! I am now more powerful than you could possible imagine! I am perfection embodied! And now, I have no more use for you," she said, her body beginning to glow. With a burst of flame, she broke free of the tendrils holding her, and rushed straight towards the scientist. Her fingers extended into claws as she flew forward, and Ruby smiled as she plunged the claws through the stomach of the scientist.

"Goodbye, old friend."

The scientist fell to the ground, a look of surprise on her face. Morgan rushed forward to catch her as she fell. As she lay there, bleeding, she managed to croak out a few last words. "I'm sorry... that it had to end like this... Just... don't let her win..." she said, before the last remnants of life left her. She died in Morgan's arms.

"A fitting end to an old fool. A sinner who attempted to be god," Ruby said, gloating.

Morgan simply kneeled there, silent.

"It's a pity that I have to kill you too. Do you know what your sin is?"

"I'm kind of partial to Wrath, myself," Morgan said, standing up, and staring straight at Ruby. Behind him, the shadows cast by the ceiling and the broken lights began to writhe and twist. "You call yourself perfect. I'm going to show you how wrong you are," Morgan said, as even Ruby's own shadow moved to attack her.

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X-Men! I'm picking up a huge mutant signature in the Savage Land! I'm relaying the co-ordinates now, the Professor said into the minds of the team currently in the Blackbird.

"Got 'em. We're on our way. Team, get ready!" Cyclops said, glancing back into the cabin of the jet.

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The battle between Morgan and Ruby raged like an inferno. While Pietro and the other Brotherhood members had regained consciousness by now, they didn't join Morgan, being completely awestruck by the sheer intensity of the fighters.

The two of them were almost evenly matched. It was more like a dance now, and if either one made a mistake, it would likely be their last. Both combatants were throwing everything they had at the other, and both of them were responding with unerring precision. They had now finally resorted to pure fisticuffs, and the battle became even more intense, if that was possible.

Morgan let out a scream of rage, and finally forced his way under Ruby's guard. He slammed both palms into her stomach, smirking in satisfaction as he heard the gasp of air being forced from her lungs. She went flying backwards, but Morgan wasn't about to let her rest that easily. A split second after his attack connected, he had leapt forward, not giving the woman a moment's rest. Now that he had landed the first hit, he wasn't going to let up.

He continued his assault, showering his foe with blow after blow, finally pushing her back far enough so that his powers could be used at close range. A thin jet of blackness shot forward, impaling itself through Ruby's shoulder, and pinning her to the wall. Morgan was ready to put a spike through her other arm, when he was stopped by a familiar voice from behind him.

"Morgan, STOP!" Kitty screamed at him, running in the door of the room, followed closely by Scott, Logan, Jean, Kurt, and Ororo. "We've got it from here," she added, putting her hand on Morgan's shoulder. Morgan was breathing heavily, his mind clouded with a mixture of adrenaline and rage.

"Kitty's right, kid. Leave her to us," Logan said.

"Yes, listen to your friends. You don't want to do this, do you?" Ruby said. Her demeanor had changed from arrogance to pleading. It's amazing what having a large spike pinning you to a wall will do for your personality.

"Shut up! You've got no right to talk!" Morgan said, knocking her out with a heavy blow to the side of the head. The spine pinning her to the wall dissipated, letting her fall to the ground. She was bleeding, but it wouldn't be fatal.

Morgan was finally starting to calm down, now the fight was truly over. He let out a deep sigh, before relief was replaced with another sensation. "Okay, feeling woozy," he mumbled, stumbling a bit. He nearly fell over, but Kitty was next to him, and helped him to steady himself. Not used to exerting himself to the degree that the fight had required, Morgan had worked himself to the point of exhaustion. He was lucky to even be upright at this point.

Sniffing the air, Logan quickly recognized the Brotherhood members. With a familiar SNIKT, he had popped his claws. "Hey, wait! We're not here to fight, yo!" Toad said, raising his arms in surrender. "Yeah, what he said. As much as I hate to say it, could you give us a lift home?" Pietro asked. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even be considering it, but these were hardly normal circumstances.

"What do you think, kid? We give 'em a ride?" Logan said, turning to Scott.

"I don't like it. But this is a rescue mission, and the Professor would probably agree. Fine, but if you try ANYTHING on the flight home, I will personally shove you out of the plane," Scott said to the Brotherhood members, obviously not liking the idea of having to help them.

"So, what about her?" Morgan asked, pointing to the unconscious form of Ruby.

"I might have an idea," Maxis said, stepping forward. Held in his hands was one of the collars that had been used on Pietro and the others, and had nullified their powers. "This collar is designed to nullify the powers of the wearer."

"Okay, now what do we do about the rest of the people here?" Morgan asked, motioning to the now mostly empty cages.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. While you and that woman were fighting, you ended up wrecking most of the cages. The prisoners got out, and have pretty much overrun the facility. We can organize an evacuation when we get back," Scott said, reassuringly.

"We're done here, unless anyone has any objections," Logan said, looking around at everyone.

"There's one last thing," Morgan said, letting go of Kitty, and slowly made his way towards the scientist's body. "Good bye... mother," Morgan said, folding her hands over her stomach. At those words, Morgan could have sworn he saw the corners of her mouth turn up into an almost imperceptible smile, but that was probably his eyes playing tricks on him. "We're taking her with us. She deserves a proper burial," he said, getting to his feet, with Kitty once more helping him up.

"Let's get back to the jet. I don't want to spend any more time here," he added, making his way to the door with a bit of assistance from Kitty to make sure that he didn't topple over.  
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_Later, at the mansion... _

"Hank, how is the boy?" Xavier asked, wheeling his way into the infirmary where Morgan had been since returning to the mansion. "Exhausted, but otherwise in good shape. He's been sleeping since he came in here. He was out the moment his head hit the pillow, and I haven't the heart to wake him," McCoy replied, chuckling slightly.

"Let him rest, then. After the ordeal he's been through, he deserves that much," the Professor said, wheeling out of the infirmary.

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_Elsewhere... _

"Ma'am, we're receiving another data stream," the woman stationed in front of the bank of monitors called to a blue-skinned woman behind her.

The blue-skinned female casually walked up to the monitors, baring her fangs in a grin as she surveyed the new data. "My, this is certainly interesting. Our little mole is proving quite useful. Keep me posted," she said, before turning on her heel and walking off.

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Well, that's Chapter 9! What do you guys think? Next chapter, I think I'll lighten the mood a bit. What do you think? 

Until then, you know the drill!

Stay Snazzy!


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